Viva La Full Tilt Poker?

For almost 6 months now, Full Tilt Poker has been on the edge of a precipice with its legion of frustrated customers around the world cut adrift and owed around $300 million since the troubles first began in the US on Black Friday.
Now, however, there may just be some good news on the horizon for the beleaguered online poker room, despite having recently having had its gaming licence revoked by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC).
Apparently, French investment company ‘Groupe Bernard Tapie’ has signed an exclusive agreement with Full Tilt to acquire the poker room and its assets, while saying the repayment of customers was a priority for the investors.
Stating the credentials of their possible rescuer on a press release, Full Tilt Poker said:
“Groupe Bernard Tapie has over 30 years of experience in the salvation of financially distressed businesses, with over 40 companies acquired and managed to profitability, the most well-known being the sport equipment giant, Adidas.”
Nevertheless, before the deal goes through there would appear to be a number of caveats, which have the potential to scupper any future agreement. At the top of the list is the need for the company to conclude a settlement with the US DoJ, thus resolving its outstanding legal problems.
Groupe Bernard Tapie said they would start negotiating with the DoJ next week, and indicated that they would prefer not to pay the DoJ all at once but over time, instead. Despite a whole host of pitfalls which may sink the deal, the Bernard Tapie Group said if all went well then Full Tilt could be up and running by January of next year.
Commenting on the potential of the battered brand, Tapie said: “The brand is not in question, it’s a well-known brand and the technology is widely recognized as being possibly the best in the industry. The management of the company is being questioned and it will be changed (should the takeover be concluded). I believe we have the tools necessary to once again make the site one of the leaders in the online poker sector.”